Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Requiem of Summer ❯ Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A loud thumping noise was heard, making everyone in the classroom stop what they were doing. Hana’s face had made contact with the wooden tabletop. The black-haired woman rubbed the welt that was now present in the middle of her forehead. Her cheeks grew warm with embarrassment when she noticed the eyes on her.

“Is everything okay, Miss Suzuki?” her teacher asked. She had an open textbook in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry for the commotion,” Hana said in a low voice. She could feel her body slowly sink into her seat as giggles were heard from all around her. She only got a few hours of sleep the night before. She was busy working on a research paper for her Psychology class, not to mention Natsumi was still not coming out of her room. However, she was using the bathroom to shower. It was a start. She was also told that she withdrew from her classes.

Hana straightened up when a piece of paper was placed in front of her.

“Pop quiz,” her teacher announced. “Once you complete that, then you can leave.”

Hana groaned and placed both hands on the side of her head as she looked down at the questions. Things weren’t going to get any easier, and she only knew a handful of answers.

Giving up on all hope, she guessed on the last question. After gathering up all her things for that class, she walked up to the front to hand in her quiz. Her teacher looked up at her through thinly framed glasses.

“You got some mark there, Suzuki,” she said, noticing the now black and blue on her student’s forehead. She took the paper from the young woman and looked it over. “From what I see here, you weren’t paying attention.”

Hana knew that her teacher noticed her dozing off in her class, she literally face-planted on her desk. Hana just bowed in apology, hoping that it would compensate for something.

“I’m sorry. I was up most of the night with a research paper,” Hana said softly. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep during your class.”

Her teacher let out a sigh through her red-painted lips. “I know you have other classes that require a little more work. You aren’t the only one who dozes off in class. You are the first one who made it obvious, though.” A small smile appeared on the older woman’s face. “Try and pace yourself. If you push yourself too hard, you are only going to fail.”

“Yes, ma’am, and thank you,” Hana said. She left the classroom with her shoulders slumped. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she had two more classes before calling it a day. She glanced at a bulletin board and stopped mid-step. The board had pamphlets, fliers about upcoming events, and “help wanted” ads pinned to it. One flier caught Hana’s eye. She took the piece of paper and looked it over. It had a picture of a night festival, people wearing their yakata with yellow and orange lanterns strung above them. In big, bold lettering, it read “Tokyo Mid-Spring Festival” on the top. The festival was being held that weekend, which brought a smile to Hana’s lips. She folded the paper and tucked it into her messenger bag.

“What are you smiling about?” a voice from behind her asked. Hana gasped and spun around to find Cye standing behind her with a smile on his face. “Anything good?”

“You scared me,” Hana said, hitting his arm playfully. “And to answer your question, yes. I saw a flier for the festival this weekend. I haven’t been to one in years. I think we should all go and have some fun.”

“That does sound like a good idea. I don’t know if Natsumi would want to go, though,” Cye said, his smile forming into a frown. “She’s too afraid to leave the house.”

Hana looked at the tiled floor as if in defeat. “I know, but maybe she’ll change her mind if I bring it up? I’ll tell her about all the fun she will have. Staying cooped up in that house isn’t healthy, either.”

Cye let out a sigh through his mouth. “You can try. By the way, what happened to your forehead?” He gently touched the bruised area with his index finger.

“I fell asleep in class and smacked my head against the table,” Hana blushed. “It got everyone’s attention, and I think I failed the quiz we had.”

“You think you failed?” he questioned.

“I was up half the night working on my research paper for my Psych class. That paper is half my grade. I wasn’t really paying attention to anything else,” she explained. “Luckily, my professor understood my situation, I think. At least I finished the damn thing so I can start focusing on other things.”

Cye shook his head with a smile. “Don’t burn yourself out. What class do you have next?”

“I have Intro to Business,” Hana replied.

“I’ll walk you there,” Cye said as he took her hand into his. Hana smiled warmly at him, and the two headed down the hall hand-in-hand.

 

An elderly man stopped at an iron door. He was wearing a long, dark purple robe, his white, long hair slicked back with a shoulder-length beard. His beady black eyes stared at the door, waiting for a response from the other side.

“Enter,” a voice said from within the room.

The man opened the door slightly, slipping into the dimly lit room. Candles were lit on either side of the bed. All he could see through the shadows were the glowing yellow eyes that pierced through him with ease.

“How are you feeling, Master?” the man asked. He knelt down on one knee in front of the bed, his head down.

“My strength is slowly returning, but not fast enough. My power is still weak,” replied the shadowed figure. “What do you have for me, Jaaku?”

“I hid in the shadows during your brother’s reign. I observed everything that had happened. My loyalty is only to you, Master Taikoku,” Jaaku said, his head still down. “Talpa fought a being called the Ancient One. The Ancient One split your brother’s armor into nine different suits of armors, each bearing their own unique power. I found out that when five of these armors combine their powers, a stronger suit of armor is created. Of course, your brother failed in collecting it. Allow me to show you,” Jaaku said as he took out a crystal ball from within his robe pocket.

The ball levitated from the old man’s palm and floated in mid-air. A purplish glow appeared within the sphere, revealing images of the armors in action. Each Ronin unleashed their special attack. Taikoku’s yellow eyes widened when he watched the five armors come together to create the White Armor.

“I am intrigued about this white suit of armor. I must know more about it,” Taikoku said. “But first, I must get my energy and power level to its peak. How many servants do I have?”

“Unfortunately, a lot of the warriors went to Talpa’s aid. Not a whole lot is left to form a good army to take over the mortal world. We do have the siblings. They haven’t betrayed you, but they can be bothersome,” Jaaku explained.

“At least those brats have some loyalty. What about Badamon? He can use his spirits to aid us,” Taikoku suggested.

“He was one of the followers that went to aid Talpa. He was a fool to do so,” Jaaku said.

“Then he deserved his fate,” Taikoku said angrily. “I must find more followers. That will be your task before we move forward to those armors.”

“As you wish, Master,” Jaaku said and excused himself from the room.

 

As Hana closed the front door, relief washed over her knowing that she was home. Exhaustion overcame her in her last class, and she was out like a light. Her last teacher, however, was not as understanding as her other teacher. She turned around to head to her room, but stopped when she saw Natsumi sitting at the island; a small bowl of dry corn puff was in front of her.

“Hey. It’s good to see you,” Hana said as he headed over to her friend. “How was your day?”

“It was okay,” Natsumi said as she moved the puffs with her spoon. “Didn’t really do much. How about you? How was school?”

Hana let out a long sigh as she sat on the stool next to Natsumi. “I fell asleep in two of my classes. The first class, the teacher was more understanding of the situation. The last class, however, not so much. He gave me a small lecture on why his class was important.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Natsumi said softly. “I’m guessing that is where the bruise on your forehead came from? This semester is a rough one.”

Hana touched her forehead with her index finger. “My face came in contact with the desk the first time I clonked out. This semester is short, so everything is being crammed. I should have taken Ryo’s lead and took the semester off,” Hana said. “I need a break. Oh! That reminds me.” Hana dug into her messenger bag and took out the flier she saw earlier that day. She unfolded it and handed it to Natsumi. “There is a festival being held this weekend. We should all go.”

The hand that was holding the sheet of paper tightened. The anxiety that Natsumi was feeling the past couple of days was coming back. Her heart started to pound hard against her ribcage as thoughts of her father finding her entered her mind. Suddenly it was hard to breath. “I-I don’t know…” she stuttered as she handed the flier back to her friend. “I d-don’t think I should…” She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she tried to take in deep, long breathes.

“I get that you are afraid that your father will find you,” Hana said as she placed the flier on the surface of the island, “but you’ll be with us, and trust me, we won’t let him near you.” A sincere smile formed on the black-haired woman’s lips as she placed a hand on Natsumi’s shoulder. “If he tries anything, I’ll make sure he goes flying.” Hana looked at the blue ceramic fruit bowl in front of her and levitated an apple with just her pointer finger. The fruit floated smoothly to her open palm. “We need to get more green apples.”

“You’re the only one who really eats them. I think they are too sour,” Natsumi said before taking a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

Hana swallowed the piece of apple with a grin. “But that’s the best part.”

The brunette gave a small smile then looked at the microwave that was on the other side of the room. “I’ll think about the festival.”

“Great! You’ll have fun,” Hana said with excitement in her voice.

Natsumi just smiled at her enthusiastic friend while the nerves inside her body were still making themselves known.

 

The air was crisp with a gentle breeze. The sun was getting ready to say good night as it slowly sank into the horizon. Hana stood in the center of her training ground with her eyes closed and her hands by her side. Across from her stood Kento, clad in his sub-armor, waiting for something to happen. Hana held her breath as she felt her body get lighter. The tingling sensation that she felt traveled through all areas of her body, from the top of her head, to the tips of her toes and fingers. Her heart raced as she opened her eyes. Everything was purple in her vision. It was as if tinted film was placed in front of her eyes. She walked slowly toward her armored friend, but it felt like she was gliding on air.

Kento’s body tensed as he felt her hand on his chest. Within seconds, she merged with him. The Bearer of Hardrock gasped for air. It felt like his chest was being crushed. Sweat started to pour down his body as he clenched his chest with his hand. He let out a groan as he fell to his knees, panting heavily. His mind raced as his body started to feel heavier. The heavy weight then slowly started to disappear as Hana’s body separated itself from him. She fell to the ground unconscious.

“Hana…” Kento gasped as he crawled to his fallen friend. He placed a shaky pointer and middle finger on her neck. A sigh of relief escaped his parted lips when he felt a rapid pulse. Thank goodness she was still alive. He sat on the ground, wiping his brow of the sweat. Hana’s body stirred as she slowly opened her eyes. The cold dirt felt good against her weak body. She sat up and looked around the area, then at Kento, who was sitting across from her.

“What happened?” she asked.

“We merged for a little bit until you fainted, then we split,” Kento explained. “Are you okay?”

Hana nodded her head. She did feel weak, as if most of her energy was zapped from her. “I don’t know what went wrong,” she said as she looked at her right hand. It was slightly shaking. “When I merged with Kurushimi, it was easy…”

“Really?” Kento inquired with a raised brow.

“Well…maybe it wasn’t at first…”

“Maybe that brat had more power in her than she knew.” He stared at the little rocks on the ground as he remembered the feeling he felt during the merge. “It was painful.” Hana looked at her friend. “When you merged with me, it felt like my body was being overcrowded… or something. My chest felt like it was being crushed. I could hardly breathe.”

“I had no idea,” Hana said sadly, feeling guilty. “I kind of lose all feeling.”

“And that bitch Shijisha knew how to do this? Like some kind of pro?”

“That’s what Kurushimi told me. Shijisha was good at taking over bodies, which was probably why it was easy to possess me.”

Kento drew in a long breath through his nose. “Well, if that psycho can pull it off, then we can, too,” he said with his wide grin. “We just need to practice more. A technique like that can be valuable in battle.”

“But you just said it was painful,” Hana argued. “I don’t want to cause you pain. We should just forget about this and focus on something else.”

Kento got up from his place on the ground and placed both hands on Hana’s shoulders. “You just need to not make yourself known as much. Does that even make sense?”

“Not really,” Hana frowned.

“Or try not to use too much of your energy. It seemed like the reason why you passed out was because you used too much. Maybe it’s the energy that is causing the crowdedness.”

“Maybe…”

“We’ll try it again, but for now, rest,” Kento said as he patted her back with his hand.

“What’s going on here?” Both figures turned their attention to their visitor. Natsumi was standing at the entrance to the training area, a look of concern on her face. She was out of her night gown and was wearing a simple pink dress. “Is everything okay? Why are you on the ground, Hana?”

“We were just training,” Kento replied as he helped Hana to her feet. “I’m glad you are out of the house.”

“Well, I’m not alone out here,” she said softly. “I guess I’ll be okay if I’m with one of you guys. I don’t want to be in that house forever.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Hana said as she walked over to her friend. “Does this mean you’ll go with us to the festival?”

Natsumi slowly nodded her head. “Oh. You have some dirt on your right cheek.”

Hana rubbed her cheek with her hand then looked at Kento. “Is it gone?” The warrior gave her the thumbs up. “I’m glad you are feeling better, Natsumi.”

The brunette gave a small smile before remembering why she was there in the first place. “Cye told me to tell you guys that dinner is ready.”

“Yeah! I am starving after a hard training session! Let’s go, guys!” he yelled as he raced out of the area. The two women giggled as they followed their hungry friend back to the house.